1985 Honda Civic

This review, written in the summer of 2006, looks at a 21 year old car — the 1985 Honda Civic — many of which are still on the road.  Their drivers often have a love hate relationship with their Civics, but as even they note, what other make is still around and driving 20-plus years later?

All the '85 Civics remained unchanged except for enhancements to the CRX models and a late-in-the-year change to the wagon, now offering it as a 4WD with 6-speed manual transmission.

Naturally, the CRXs were receiving most of the public's attention, given their sporty look and performance. Maybe that's why Honda added the changes that gave the CRX Si a 1.5 liter fuel-injected engine with (for Honda) an awesome 91 hp.  A sunroof became standard; so too did sport seats. The CRX HF for high fuel economy had the 1.5 litre engine, too, but its 8 valves gave it better acceleration in city driving, but only 58 hp. But, given that it achieved more than 50 mpg, who cares about the hp?

Complaints for the other '85 Civics are that they are noisy and bumpy and that the 60 hp makes it a tad difficult to pass other cars. But at least one owner of an original '86 Civic Si said it was a really fast car with "gobs of go."